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(WARNING! There will be some coarse language and some suggestive innuendo in this chapter, if you find this offensive then perhaps the internet is not the safest place for you.)
", "writing": "A wise man (who also happened to be a 6’2” mutant rat in a kimono) once said that [i]“True patience consists in bearing what is unbearable.”[/i] \n\n[i]Unbearable;[/i] that sounded about right. In fact, it described this last miserable week down to the letter. \n\nAt this point, Raph figured he had earned himself a damned medal for how patient he had been; true to his word, even if he was the only one who knew he’d given it, he’d waited an entire week for his bro to pull himself together on his own. \n\n1 whole week and the only thing that had improved had been the food- and that was because Splinter had finally had enough and suggested to Mikey that, while his creative attempts to cheer up his brother were most thoughtful, perhaps the best way to aid Donatello on his path to normalcy would be better accomplished through a more [i]normal[/i] diet, something both Raph and Leo had wholeheartedly agreed with. \n\nRaphael never thought he’d see the day he’d call pepperoni, jalapeño and jellybean pizza [i]normal[/i], but after tasting Mikey’s avocado, black bean and cornflakes pizza breakfast burrito, the youngest turtle’s former [i]gourmet[/i] weirdness was practically mundane.\n\n1 week and Donatello still hadn’t spoken any sentences longer than [i]“No really, I’m fine.”[/i] Absolutely nobody had even tried to bring up the topic of Casey and April, which was incredible seeing as how those 2 had dropped by every other day. \n\n Maybe [i]Incredible[/i] wasn’t the right term. [i]Awkward[/i] would probably be a better word for it.\n\nNot that their visits were unexpected; April was still training with Master Splinter to be a Kunnoichi*, and had shown up Monday afternoon right after school just as she always did. Casey had Hockey practice so he didn’t stop by until much later to walk April back home.\n\nThere must have been a meeting that Raph hadn’t been invited to, since everyone but [i]him[/i] seemed to have gotten the memo about pretending everything was perfectly fine.\n\nThe second the red-head had walked past the turnstiles into the lair, Donnie had perked up just enough to put on a weak smile and give this dinky little wave, greeting her with a [i]“Hey, April!”[/i] that sounded like he was either faking being cheerful and failing at it, or like he was just waking up from a 12 hour nap.\n\nLikewise, April put on a forced smile of her own, mimicked the stupid wave thing and returned the greeting with a [i]“Hey, Donnie!”[/i] that was way more enthusiastic than it needed to be before saying hi to the rest of them and disappearing into the Dōjō where Splinter was waiting.\n\nBefore Raph had a chance to ask what the hell that sorry display was all about, Donnie had cleared his throat and mumbled off an excuse about [i]“needing to get back to work”[/i] before scurrying off like a scared rabbit into the garage. \n\nHe couldn’t really blame Donatello for wanting to make a quick exit; in all fairness, if their positions were reversed, Raph wouldn’t want to be standing there with everyone’s eyes on him either. Asking if he was ok was 1 thing, but seeing looks of pity aimed at him was another.\n\nAt 1 point it looked like Mikey was going to comment on their brother’s sudden need to [i]get back[/i] to a mystery project that hadn’t existed before April’s arrival, but a quick elbow jab to his side and a glare from Leo shut that down pretty quickly. \n\nAny other time and Raph would’ve been happy that the orange-banded turtle was willing to be quiet for a change; but now he was actually starting to miss the noise- all of this uncomfortable silence was really starting to get on his nerves.\n\nDonnie’s [i]“project”[/i] had managed to keep him busy and out of sight just long enough until April’s lesson was almost over, making his reappearance in the common room carrying a box full of junk, just as Casey Jones made his own entrance.\n\nThe sound of skates rolling across the concrete bounced off the walls and gave them plenty of heads-up before the teen boy leapt over the turnstiles. There was a loud whoop of joy as Casey nailed a smooth landing on the other-side, pumped his fists in the air and made fake crowd cheering noises as he congratulated himself on his [i]“daring feat of skill”[/i]. \n\nLeo visibly tensed and he and Raph had shared a look from across the room, both of them nodding as they came to a silent agreement;\n\nTurtles [i]First.[/i]\n \nCasey Jones may have been Raph’s best friend, but Donatello was his brother, and if Jones had any thoughts about rubbing his new relationship with April in Donnie’s face, Raph would personally knock the Hockey players remaining teeth out. \n\nRaph had even cracked his knuckles in anticipation as he watched Casey swagger over in Donnie’s direction, what happened next though, he still couldn’t process-\n \nCasey barely glanced at Donatello, but he raised his hand in greeting as he laughed out a [i]“How’s it hanging, Ostrich-breath?”[/i] while he made his way towards the sitting area by the TV.\n\nThe purple-banded turtle didn’t even bat an eye, [i]“Fine, Puck-brain.”[/i] and just walked on past him to his lab to put his box away, like it was no big deal.\n\nWhatever Raph had been expecting to happen, that sure as shell wasn’t it- judging from the way Leo’s jaw had practically dropped to the floor, it was a safe bet to say he was just as clueless.\n\nThe insults had no bite to them. There were no dirty looks, no sharp tones; it was all so… [i]casual[/i]. It was like they were back on the Farmhouse again and Casey and Donnie were playing [i]wrench jockeys[/i] in the barn, taking turns calling each other names in alphabetical order while they worked on that beat up old Hot Rod*. \n\nRaph wasn’t an expert or anything, but he was pretty sure that wasn’t how you were normally supposed to act around the guy who just recently snagged your dream girl. \n\nThe only explanation he could come up with was that this was somehow that [i]dream girl’s[/i] doing; Even without her psychic powers it had been pretty obvious to April that Casey and Donnie were constantly fighting for her attention when she was around, and it was even more obvious to everyone else that she hated it. April had never put up with it before and it was doubtful that she was going to start now. Just because she and Casey were a [i]“thing”[/i] now, that didn’t give him a free-pass to pull anything she considered to be [i]“macho-crap”.[/i]\n\nEven if April didn’t feel the same about Donnie as he did for her, she was still his friend and it was a pretty safe bet that Casey wouldn’t be getting any over-the-jersey action if she caught him acting like a tool. Raph was thankful for that, enough to consider [i]not[/i] teasing Casey about being [i]“whipped.”[/i]\n\nIt took his 2 other brothers a bit longer to come to the same conclusion he had; \n\nLeo had taken it upon himself to stand guard by the Atomic Robo X arcade console. It was half-way between the TV area and Donnie’s lab and gave him the best vantage point if he needed to intervene. Fearless Leader wasn’t being subtle about it either; didn’t even bother trying to pretend he was playing video games. He just blatantly stood there; arms crossed and tried to stare a hole through Casey’s head, ready to strike if the human so much as twitched wrong. [i]Real smooth.[/i]\n\nMikey hadn’t looked like he was prepared to skewer Casey like Leo was, but he didn’t look like he was going to relax either-\n\n Donnie was acting strange, Leo was just itching for an excuse to unsheathe his swords and Casey was sprawled out on the bench seat watching TV, completely oblivious to all of it- \n\nUsually, the youngest turtle was the most laid back and the most talkative, but right then he was almost quiet; huddled up on the far end of the bench and fidgeting in place, eyes wide as his head darted back and forth between Casey, Leo and Donnie’s lab. And all while squeezing 1 of the bench cushions tightly to his chest and biting into it as if it were the only thing keeping him from exploding. \n\nThat probably wasn’t far from the truth- Mikey had a special talent for blurting out what everyone else was thinking but had enough common sense not to say at times like this. Leo had already given him [i]“that look”[/i] when April had showed up; that same look he always put on when he was in [i]Leader-Mode[/i] and meant business, and as big a goofball as his kid brother was, even Mikey knew better than to ignore that look. \n\nSo as much as the freckled turtle had probably been dying to say something; he used every ounce of willpower he had to keep his big mouth shut, and from the looks of things it had been a pretty intense battle.\n\nHonestly, Raph had been willing to place his money on the pillow… He would have won that wager too if April hadn’t finished up training when she did and walked out into the common area.\n\nSeeing April and knowing that Casey wasn’t likely to try anything in her presence was enough to make Leonardo pull the stick out of his ass. Seeing that big brother no longer looked like he was ready to turn their friend into human Sashimi*was enough to make Michelangelo take the now very stretched out and slobbered upon cushion out of his mouth. \n\nHearing April’s voice greeting Casey was enough to draw Donatello out of his lab just long enough to say goodbye to their friends before they walked through the turnstiles out of the lair and headed topside.\n\nAs soon as the happy couple was out of sight, Donatello dropped the [i]“everything’s-just-peachy”[/i] act and his faced shifted from that neutral smile to a look that fell somewhere between sadness and indigestion.\n\nThe whole thing was enough to make Raph sick to his stomach.\n\nThe 6 of them repeated this awkward routine both Wednesday and Friday; Donnie put on the pleasantries for April, threw some friendly insults at Casey, then went off to his lab or the garage to do some [i]“work.” [/i]\n\nEach time got a little easier, the second time April’s smile was less forced and by Friday it was genuine. Leonardo had been convinced that Casey wasn’t going to hassle his nerdy brother and for the most part ignored him in favor of actually trying to beat the high score on Atomic Robo X. Mikey no longer needed a pillow gag and talked Casey’s ears off while they laughed at whatever was on the TV. \n\nEveryone seemed like they were happily moving on, everyone except Donnie.\n\nEach time Casey and April left for home, the purple banded turtle put on that same sad, weird face, like he wanted to find some dark corner where he could just crawl into his shell and die (or throw up), then went back to moping around the lair and sighing. \n\nAs for his so called [i]“projects”[/i], that had turned out to be a complete load of [i]bull[/i]; Raphael had been more than a little suspicious that his bro suddenly had so much to work on whenever April and Casey dropped by, especially since he didn’t seem to be motivated to do much of anything when they [i]weren’t[/i] there. \n\nDonatello’s [i]“work”[/i] consisted of random pieces of scrap metal that had been welded together, for no obvious reason that Raph could tell other than Donnie had felt the urge to weld something. His desk that was usually littered with piles of notes was now covered in papers with scribbles- no numbers or words, just pages and pages worth of black spirals and squiggles. \n\nRaph had even peeked his head in the lab once and caught his brother just sitting there, leaning over a table, head propped up with one hand, slowly swirling a glass beaker filled with some unknown liquid in the other, and staring mindlessly at nothing. It was both depressing and a little bit creepy.\n\n\nAs much as he wanted his bro back to normal, the red-banded turtle really didn’t want to be the 1 to take charge either; he was hoping that Sensei would step in and set their brother straight. Their father always seemed to know when something was bugging them and he also always seemed to have something to say about it. Even if whatever that something was wasn’t something they wanted to hear, it was usually something that they needed to. \n\nThat was the thing about fatherly wisdom, he supposed; something else Splinter had said about [i]“the best medicine being bitter”[/i] or something like that.\n\nIf Splinter [i]did[/i] have a talk with Donatello, Raph sure as shell wouldn’t have known about it- none of them would have. Whenever their father decided he needed to have a heart-to-heart with 1 of them, he always did it when they were alone. Maybe he knew that it was easier on [i]them[/i] knowing that they didn’t have an audience, or maybe it was just easier for [i]him[/i] to say his peace without worrying about 4 sons interrupting him. Either way, if Splinter and Donatello had a little chat anytime during this past week, it would’ve been kept private so that Donnie could let their father’s words sink in and figure it out for himself.\n\nThat was what they all would have expected Splinter to do as their [i]Father[/i]. But as their [i]Sensei[/i], he was really throwing them all for a loop;\n\nEver since they were little, there had never been any doubt that their training in Ninjitsu was serious business that Master Splinter did not take lightly. He had a set routine and nothing short of an alien invasion could break it. (That had happened like, what, 3 times now?)\n\nMorning training began right after breakfast every day, and it started with an excruciating 20 minutes of mandatory meditation (and you had better be on time ‘cuz there was a penalty of 10 extra minutes for every 1 minute you were late), followed by breathing techniques, muscle conditioning exercises, tumbling skills, and a series of both defensive and offensive katas*.\n\nEvening training took place right before dinner, and was mostly weapons practice and sparring. If you didn’t bring your [i]“A-Game”[/i] to evening training, you could bet your shell Sensei wasn’t going to let you go out on patrol that night.\n\nTheir training wasn’t just a part of their Father’s heritage; it was what kept them alive. Splinter was pretty strict in the Dōjō, and as they got older he was less and less likely to cut them any slack… \n\nAt least, that’s how it used to be before April and Casey hooked up.\n\nMaybe Splinter was getting older, or maybe something about Donatello’s situation struck a personal chord with him, Raph wasn’t really sure. All he DID know was that his purple-banded brother seemed to be getting a [i]“free-pass”[/i] which was completely messed up! \n\nWell, maybe [i]“free-pass”[/i] was a bit much, he seriously doubted Sensei would have put up with anyone showing up late or not at all, and fortunately Donnie was smart enough not to push his luck in that department. But he was still getting off pretty easy.\n\nDonnie didn’t meditate so much as he sat there and stared at his feet while sitting in the Lotus position* (Ok, most of the time Raph and Mikey didn’t really do much meditation either, but at least they always made the effort to [i]look[/i] like they were), and he was half-assing it through every exercise, moving at a snail’s pace. It was embarrassing to watch.\n\nSplinter said nothing.\n\nRather than going through their typical katas* or even trying to learn anything new, Sensei had them spend the week going over the most basic kamae* they knew over and over again. Shell, [i]April[/i] was doing more advanced forms than them at this point.\n\n Donatello should have been able to do each pose in his sleep. But his mind seemed to be elsewhere, his form was sloppy, his footing was off, and it looked like he just plain didn’t give a damn.\n\nSplinter saw it all, but didn’t bother to correct him.\n\nSparring was a joke. Not that Donnie had ever been able to give Raph much of a fight before, but now he wasn’t even trying. Usually Raph relished the feel of pinning his brainy bro on the mat; there was just something [i]oh so[/i] satisfying about watching the techno-geek squirm under the weight of him sitting on his shell, listening to him huff in annoyance before he finally gave up. \n\nBut for the past week that joy was gone; there was no spark in Donnie’s strikes, his movements had no heart in them. There was no determination in his eyes to finally wipe that smug look off Raph’s face. And when he went down he didn’t even bother to struggle to get back up. Just laid there, completely submissive as he quietly tapped out.\n\nSplinter remained silent, and it was driving Raph nuts!\n\nIt wasn’t even so much that Sensei was ignoring it either. He was watching Donatello almost the whole time; just staring at him while stroking his beard just like he does whenever he’s in deep thought. Rather than tell Donnie off for his lack-luster performance, it looked like he was studying him, as if he were waiting for… [i]Something.[/i]\n\nRaph wished his father would clue the rest of them in about whatever that [i]something[/i] was, but it didn’t look like that was going to happen anytime soon.\n\nWhile he wasn’t openly admonishing their brother over the poor quality of practice, Master Splinter had made it clear that until Donatello was himself again, they were [i]all[/i] forbidden from going topside. \n\nThat was totally unfair, and Raph had said as much, [i]loudly[/i]. But master Splinter had said the matter was not open for discussion, (not as loudly but with a heck of a lot more force). Until Donnie got over this emotional hump of his, they were all under-grounded.\n\nInjustice, that’s what it was. Raph could understand why Sensei didn’t want Donnie going on patrol, but why did he have to bench the rest of them? The Purple Dragons were out there, strutting around like they owned the streets, the Foot Clan was doing who knows what, and the 4 of them were stuck at home just because their resident nerd was having [i]“troubles of the heart.” [/i]\n\nThe only [i]real[/i] troubles that Raph saw was his bro being a drama queen while everyone else coddled him! \n\nNothing had changed by April and Casey getting together and the 2 of them made it clear that nothing was [i]going[/i] to change; their human friends were still a part of their lives, April was still going to train with Master Splinter 3 times a week and make time to hang out with the rest of them, Casey was still going to be right there to help them kick butt. Just because those 2 were going to be spending more quality time together outside the lair, it didn’t mean it was going to take anything away from their time with the rest of them. \n\nPlus, it’s not like they were making [i]kissy-faces[/i] at each other or anything, Raph would have gagged if they started doing that. The most [i]lovey-dovey[/i] thing their human friends had done was hold hands, and that was usually after they had gone through the turnstiles on their way out. \n\nDonnie was being a big, whiney baby over nothing! \n\nThis had been 1 lousy week filled with awkward silences, kiddie training, and his whole family walking around on eggshells.\n\nAs far as Raph was concerned, a week was more than enough time for someone to finish feeling sorry for themselves.\n\nA week had also been enough time for him to come up with a plan to snap his bro out of it;\n\n\nRaph was no stranger to dealing with difficult feelings; in his experience he’d found the best way to overcome a painful emotion was to replace it with a more powerful emotion, and he just so happened to have 1 in mind.\n\nHis bros called him the [i]“turtle with the temper”[/i], but half of the time Donatello could have just as short a fuse as he did. The major differences were that the brainy turtle preferred to use words before resorting to fists, that and his bursts of anger tended to fizzle out quicker. But Raph didn’t need very long; just a few moments would do. \n\nAll he had to do was push the right buttons and Donatello would forget all about his depression over April. He’d get everything out of his system in one huge bang, realize he’d been acting like a selfish idiot, and then go back to his usual geeky self.\n \nOk, so maybe pissing off his bro wasn’t the [i]best[/i] plan he could’ve come up with, but it was a heck of a lot more than anybody else seemed to be willing to do.\n\nAt this point, it’s not like things could get any worse.\n \n\nRaphael waited until evening training; There was no place for Donnie to hide and sulk in the Dōjō, and since their father always paired them together for sparring, his bro would have no way of avoiding him.\n\nThe 4 turtles kneeled before their Sensei, diligently awaiting his instruction as they had been taught, Leonardo and Michelangelo off to 1 side and Raphael and Donatello off to the other. \n\nSplinter regarded them all silently for a moment before his firm voice filled the room;\n\n “Yoi.”*\n\nAll 4 of them rose to a standing positon in unison.\n\n“Otagai ni taishi.”*\n\nWithout hesitation Raphael and Donatello turned on the spot so that they were now facing 1 another, Leonardo and Michelangelo did the same.\n\n“Rei.”*\n\nLeonardo and Michelangelo bent down low in a respectful bow to each other. Donatello didn’t go nearly as low, in fact, his body was only barely tilted forward. If it wasn’t for the fact that his face was pointed at the floor, Raphael might have thought his brother was refusing to bow at all. (As [i]if[/i], Raph was the rebellious 1, not him.)\n\nHead down, standing feet together and bending at the waste slightly in a small bow of his own, Raph let his eyes glance over to where Sensei was standing at the center of the room, waiting for him to give the signal to begin and taking 1 last moment to think about the plan he was about to put in motion.\n\nHe had to do this carefully, certain language was NOT acceptable in the Dōjō or around Master Splinter in general, and their father had scary good hearing.\n\n“HAJIME!”* The verbal command filled the room and brought all 4 turtles out of their bows and into a ready stance.\n\nSpinning both sai so that the tsuka* were facing forward with the tapered shaft pressed along the insides of his arms, Raph began to slowly circle around the purple-banded turtle.\n\n “Ready to do this, cream-puff?”\n\nAll he got in response was a roll of his brother’s eyes before he half-heartedly started to twirl his bō in front of him, hand over hand, and mirrored Raph’s circling. Donnie knew Raph was only trying to egg him on and he wasn’t falling for it;\n\nTaunting to try to goad the other into making a hasty attack was actually considered a good strategy; it was their choice on whether or not they allowed their opponents words to become weapons, a little taunting here and there could be seen as a test of the other’s self-control. But their father would only allow it to go so far; they were brothers, not enemies, and the point of their sparring sessions was to learn from each other. \n\nIf Sensei thought Raphael was being too mean too quickly, he would be silenced and the match would be ended on default. If Raph wanted to see this through, he was going to have to ease into it slowly and build his way up; he could chalk this up to another lesson in patience. \n\n[i]Patience,[/i] that was something the red-banded turtle knew he had more of at the moment. Donnie hadn’t been in any mood for sparring all week and just wanted to get the match over with, but Raph wasn’t about to give him that satisfaction and he held his defensive position. If Donnie wanted the session to end sooner than later, [i]he[/i] was going to have to make the first move.\n\nRaph jerked his head back ever so slightly to gesture the bō wielder forward.\n\n“Come on, take your best shot.”\n\nAs he expected, the nerd was lacking any real drive and came at him with the most basic of downward strikes- just because the brainy turtle had 8 inches on him, he always seemed to think he could get some sort of advantage by striking down at Raph’s head. Predictable.\n\nBringing his right arm up so his forearm was over his head in a block, there was a clack of wood against steel as the bō struck ineffectively against the shaft of his sai. Taking advantage of his bro’s slow reaction time, Raph used the pommeled end of the sai in his free arm to give Donnie a quick jab to the unprotected bridge* of his brother’s shell that he’d left open on his right side. Though it wasn’t so much of a jab as it was a teasing poke to point out his brother’s foolish mistake.\n\nEgghead seemed to think he could pull the same stunt and brought the lower end of his bō forward and up to try to hit his bro’s exposed side as well. \n\nIn 1 fluid motion, Raph spun the sai in his right hand so that the point was now forward as he brought his arm down to block before the hit could connect. Catching the staff in 1 of his prongs, he lifted up and pushed it away to the left as far as he could, forcing Donnie to turn his back to him to follow along with it.\n\nSliding his weapon free and making use of the momentum, Raph spun on his heels and was able to use the butt-end of the sai in his left hand to land a solid back-fisted strike right in the center of Donnie’s shell. The purple-banded turtle yelped in pain as he stumbled forward to try and regain his balance.\n\nRaph knew that had to hurt. Their shells were attached directly to their spines and they felt every blow. The hard keratin might protect their torsos from bruises, but as far as being considered “armor” it was just as effective as a fingernail protecting a thumb from being smashed by a hammer. \n\n“[i]Seriously?[/i] How did you [i]NOT[/i] see that coming?”\n\nThere was laughter in his voice- that was the key to staying off Splinter’s radar. As long as he didn’t sound mad or like he was being accusatory, he could get away with [i]“poking fun”[/i] at his bro for not having his head in the game.\n\nIf the steaming glare Donatello had fixed on him was anything to go by, Raphael now had his full attention, and he shrugged the dirty look off with a friendly smile.\n\n “Maybe we outta’ save some time and just paint a Bulls-Eye on you shell”\n\n“Back [i]off[/i] Raph”\n\n“Who’s gonna’ make me, [i]you[/i]?” He couldn’t help it as his friendly smile shifted into a smirk.\n\nDonnie didn’t have anything to say to that, he only narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on his staff. They both knew just how likely it was that he could make Raph do anything.\n\n“Yeah, I didn’t think so. “\n\nDonnie huffed out in annoyance and went forward to try again. Raph spun his right sai back so the handle was facing outwards once more as he anticipated his bro’s attack.\n\nSo far so good; picking at Donnie’s faults in the Dōjō wasn’t anything new, maybe he was being a bit harsher than he normally would, but still it wasn’t anything the genius couldn’t brush off. That was fine; these little bruises to his bro’s ego were only meant to soften him up anyway.\n\nStill intent on paying the red-banded turtle back for the [i]“love tap”[/i] on his bridge, Donnie shifted his weight forward on his right foot as he swung his bō in a horizontal strike at Raph’s left side. Raph knew it was a feint, and sure enough as soon as he’d twisted his torso to bring his right arm in to block the attack on the left, Donatello lifted his staff up, around and back down on the other side to go for a second horizontal strike aimed at the side Raphael had left exposed on his right.\n\nNo such luck. The sai-wielder easily brought his right arm back down in time to deflect the attack. The block cause the wood to bounce off the metal and Donnie used that momentum to bring his bō back up across his body in a diagonal path before bringing it back down again towards the left side of Raph’s skull.\n\nBringing his left arm inside and up, the emerald-skinned turtle was able to use the shaft of the sai against his arm to stop the bō in its tracks and keep it pushed away from his head. Just as before, he spun the sai in his right to the offensive position, only instead of going for another poke at the side that his bro had once again left wide open, he stabbed the pointed tip upwards at olive turtle’s face.\n\nDonnie made the tiniest squeak of surprise as he ducked his head to 1 side. It saved him from his bro’s impromptu attempt at giving him a lip piercing, but it also put him off balance enough for Raph to deliver a swift kick to his right hip, sending him stumbling backwards.\n\nIt was all Raph could do to hold in a laugh as Donnie pin-wheeled one arm in a clumsy attempt to stay upright before he was finally able to regain his footing. \n\n“Just once do you think you could try to [i]not[/i] be such a push-over? I’m falling asleep here.”\nDonatello’s cheeks heated up with indignation.\n\n“Just once do you think we could do this without [i]you[/i] being a total [i]jerk[/i]?” He was getting snarky now, that was a good sign.\n\nRaph’s smirk faltered for maybe half a second as he risked a quick glance over to where Splinter was standing, his attention divided between the 2 sets of turtles sparring. His focus wasn’t going to be divided much longer.\n\nSensei wasn’t going to like this, [i]Shell[/i], HE wasn’t going to like this, but if his plan was going to work, he was needed to hit where it hurts, and there was really only 1 scab he could pick at;\n\n“Hey, I’m not the one holding this team back because I’m too busy crying over losing my [i]girlfriend[/i]”\n\nIndignation was replaced with shock. The purple-banded turtle had gotten back into a striking position but the sheer gall of Raph’s comment had thrown him off guard.\n\n“E-[i]Excuse[/i] me?!” Stuttering; [i]now[/i] they were getting somewhere- time to switch to offense.\n\nWith both sai now pointed forward, Raph advanced; slashing both arms inwards in a sideways arc that had the bō-wielder retreating backwards and away from the red-banded turtle’s sudden onslaught.\n\n“Bet you wish you weren’t so smart, maybe then you coulda’ been the 1 to get nice and cozy with April and a math book.”\n\n[i]That[/i] brought the spark of aggression back into Donatello’s eyes and he whipped his bō outwards and down with a hard smack against the ground at Raphael’s feet. The sai-wielder was only barely able to jump up and out of way before his toes were crushed.\n\n“You’re [i]delusional[/i]!” Swinging his staff back up he tried to catch Raph back up-side the head while he was still air-borne. He was seconds too slow and Raphael brought both of his sai up in an X to catch the bō and push it back as he leapt away.\n\nNow that he was no longer the turtle being pushed back, Donatello pursued his bro’s retreating form. With each stride forwards he brought 1 end of his staff forward and then the other, determined to get a horizontal strike on either of Raph’s sides.\n\nRather than blocking the attacks, Raph focused on side stepping. He wasn’t done with his verbal assault yet and didn’t need the noise of wood on metal drowning him out.\n\n“Admit it..,”[i]-dodge to the right[/i], “I’m kicking your shell right now…“ [i]-dodge to the left[/i], “and all you can think about…” [i]–another dodge to the right[/i], “…is whether or not April and Casey take breaks to suck face while she’s tutoring him on Trig.”\n\n“I AM NOT!” \n\nThis time Raph chose to duck down to avoid a hard swipe at his head. Rolling off to the side and out of Donatello’s reach, he jumped back up to his feet and bounced playfully from foot to foot as he gave his bro a minute to catch his breath.\n\nHe didn’t have to wait long. Donatello was back into his ready position, twirling his staff in front of him as he contemplated Raphael. The gears turning in his head were almost audible. He had figured out what Raph was trying to do and now was equally determined not to give in.\n\nThat was just fine; Raph enjoyed a challenge.\n\nThey both charged each other at the same time, Donnie’s bō shot out in a forward thrust aimed at Raph’s middle, only to be caught and lifted up and away with the prong of a sai.\n\n“You can’t stand it, can you? The 2 of them, alone together…”\n\nFollowing the trajectory of his staff, Donnie spun around, bringing his bō with him and upwards to lash out with a horizontal back strike at Raph’s head. Blocking with his left sai, the red-banded turtle brought his right elbow up and barely missed Donnie’s cheek before twisting away.\n\n“…They’re probably having a little 1 on 1 session of their own right [i]now[/i].”\n\nRushing forward to assume the role of the aggressor again, Raph tried for a combo of jabs, 1 at Donnie’s face and 1 aimed at his middle. Both were effectively blocked as Donatello held his staff vertically to the floor. He was refusing to let Raph take control of the situation again, but he was panting hard now;\n\n “Will you just stop-“\n\nPushing both sai off and away, he took one step back to give himself room to bring his staff up and around before-\n\n“Of course, I bet homework isn’t the [i]only[/i] thing April gives Casey a [i]hand[/i] with after school..”\n\nDonnie froze in mid-strike and for a moment Raph thought his bro’s eyes might pop out of his head.\n \nIt probably wasn’t so much Raph’s innuendo, but the fact that he’d been bold enough to suggest something so crude within earshot of their Sensei- a chivalrous man who had begun to see their human friend as an adopted daughter of sorts.\n\nThere was no doubt Splinter would make him pay dearly for that comment, but it would be worth it (hopefully); Raph’s sheer amount of gall had made his brother hesitate, and that was a big mistake that would cost him.\n\nKeeping his arms in tight, the sai-wielder rushed in from 1 side, bringing his body low and feinting a leg sweep. Genius fell for the fake-out and brought his staff down for a diagonal lower block just as Raph pulled back the kick and raised himself up, turning inwards so that now he was directly in front of his brother.\n\nNot giving his bro any time to shift the length of his staff through his grip to give himself any distance, Raphael lunged forward, arms shooting out from their tucked position at his sides, the tips of both sai aimed at the dead center of Donatello’s plastron. The maneuver forced the purple banded turtle to step back, only having time enough to hold his bō out in a horizontal block. \n\nRaph had Donnie exactly where he wanted him now, and he was sure that the shit-eating-grin on his face told his bro the same thing. While the block had stopped the forward momentum of the attack and kept the pronged weapons from impaling the brainy turtle, the center length of the bō was now caught between the yoku* of each sai, a simple twist of Raph’s wrists and he had the wooden staff securely locked in place, removing any hope Donnie might have of pulling his weapon away.\n\nEven if Donatello tried to use his height to gain himself leverage it would do him no good. Raph may have been shorter but he was also stronger, always had been and always would be. He could end the match right here and now; it would only take a quick jerk of his arms to the side, one over the over, and he could spin the staff right out of his brother’s hands. Or, if Donnie was too stubborn to let go, which seemed more likely, he’d be spun right along with his bō and flipped to the side, winded and ready to be pinned, leaving Raphael the winner as usual.\n\nBut Raph wasn’t ready for his bro to lose the match just yet- he needed him to lose his [i]cool[/i] first.\n\nDonatello wasn’t used to his hot headed brother drawing out their sparring sessions like this, usually the older turtle liked taking him down quickly so he could move on to their more challenging brother in blue. The only reason Donnie wasn’t on his back right now was because Raph was toying with him and they both knew it. He was rubbing salt in the wound and that knowledge had the bō-wielder looking more livid by the minute.\n\nRaph took an agonizingly slow step forward, feeling smug as he crowed further into the other’s space. In response, Donnie bent his knees to lower his center of gravity and shifted 1 leg behind him to try and give himself an anchor in a desperate attempt to keep from being pushed back any farther.\n\n Beads of sweat were rolling down the sides of his head from the prolonged exertion that he hadn’t felt in days, staining his mask a darker purple. He could only grit his teeth and grunt in protest as the stronger turtle pushed down on his weapon, forcing him to lower down with it unless he wanted to leave his chest exposed. As a result, the 2 were now eye level, their faces only inches apart.\n\nRaph lifted his chin high so he could look down at his bro’s struggles, grinning as he noticed olive green arms were starting to tremble from the effort of holding him at bay.\n\nThe egghead could handle a little salt; it was time to pour on the lemon-\n\n“Must be embarrassing; April’s off playing with Casey’s Hockey-Stick while you can’t even get your own staff up.”\n\nBrown eyes snapped open impossibly wide and Raph felt his body suddenly lurch forward as Donatello threw himself backwards, pulling them both off balance and bringing his back leg up for a forward snap kick right to Raph’s exposed abdomen, his longer legs giving him a deep impact.\n\nRaph hadn’t been expecting such a bold move from his usually predictable younger brother and his lock on the bō loosened, allowing the weapon to slip free as gravity carried the leaner turtle down to the ground. He had to take several backward steps of his own to regain balance in order to keep from doing the same.\n\nWithout missing a beat, Donatello rocked back on his shell and used the momentum to kick himself back up to his feet in a single motion before charging forward. Raphael hadn’t had enough time to regain his footing and had he blinked, he would’ve missed seeing the olive and purple blur wildly swinging his staff like a baseball bat. There was a loud, resounding [i]crack[/i] as wood connected against the keratin of a plated stomach.\n\nThe world seemed to slow to a crawl; Raphael was only barely aware of dropping his sai as he clutched his middle protectively. Having the wind knocked out of him and tasting bile at the back of his throat, he looked up just in time to see the snarl that twisted Donatello’s face before the now splintered half of the bō was spun down and the intact end slid through his grip like a pool-cue in an upward thrust that shot straight into the underside of red-banded turtle’s chin hard enough to whip his head back against his shell.\n\nFor 2 whole seconds Raphael’s vision went black save for a burst of stars and time sped back up again as he hit the mat with a thud on his carapace. \n\nHe was down. For the first time in his life his nerdy brother had actually managed to knock him off his feet and he didn’t know if he should be angry or impressed.\n\nSqueezing his eyes shut for a moment, he took a deep breath which, to his dismay, sounded an awful lot like a groan. It took a minute or 2 for the room to feel like it had stopped spinning and when he opened his eyes again his was greeted by the sight of 2 panicked faces in orange and blue masks. \n\nJudging by the sound of heavy footsteps in the distance and his Father’s angry shouts, Donatello had marched himself out of the Dōjō as soon as Raph had hit the floor. The far off sound of a metal sliding door slamming shut confirmed his bro had decided to ignore their Sensei’s demands and locked himself in his lab. \n\nThe stunned silence that filled the room was only broken by a frightened whisper from the youngest,\n\n“….Holy Chalupa.” \n\n\nNot having anything particularly witty to add to that, Raph forced himself up into a sitting position and tried to ignore the painful throbbing on his chin. Less concerned over the ache in his gut, he focused instead on kneading his hand over the back of his neck- he was sure he’d be feeling the full effects of shell-lash tomorrow, but for now it was sore but bearable.\n \n His plan had worked; he had gotten the genius well and truly pissed.\n\n…And now it felt like things had gotten so much worse. \n\n\n[b]To Be Continued[/b] as soon as I’m happy with the next chapter.\n-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n* Kunnoichi is a female Ninja, seriously if you’ve been watching the show you should really know this by now.\n\n* Hot rod is an older term for a fast car used for street racing. (In case English is not your first language)\n\n* Sashimi is a Japanese delicacy consisting of very fresh raw meat or fish sliced into thin pieces.\n\n* Lotus position is a cross-legged sitting position for meditation, with the feet resting on the thighs.\n\n* Kata literally means “form” it is a martial arts term that refers to the exercise of training your body to memorize positions of blocks, punches, kicks, etc.\n\n* Kamae means posture or combat stance.\n\n* Yoi is the command to be “ready” or stand at attention.\n\n* Otagai ni taishi is the command to “Face each other.”\n\n* Rei is the command to “bow with respect” In a Dōjō, you are expected to bow to your opponents before starting a match. It is poor manners not to do so.\n\n* Hajime is the command to “begin”\n\n* Tsuka is the handle of a sai.\n\n* The Bridges are the sides of a turtle’s shell between the plastron (the front/belly) and the carapace (the back). In this case, it refers to the part of the shell that covers the turtle’s between their armpit and their hip.\n\n* Yoku is the name for the 2 side guards of the sai, also called the wings or the side prongs.\n \n", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "A wise man (who also happened to be a 6’2” mutant rat in a kimono) once said that “True patience consists in bearing what is unbearable.”

Unbearable; that sounded about right. In fact, it described this last miserable week down to the letter.

At this point, Raph figured he had earned himself a damned medal for how patient he had been; true to his word, even if he was the only one who knew he’d given it, he’d waited an entire week for his bro to pull himself together on his own.  

1 whole week and the only thing that had improved had been the food- and that was because Splinter had finally had enough and suggested to Mikey that, while his creative attempts to cheer up his brother were most thoughtful, perhaps the best way to aid Donatello on his path to normalcy would be better accomplished through a more normal diet, something both Raph and Leo had wholeheartedly agreed with.

Raphael never thought he’d see the day he’d call pepperoni, jalapeño and jellybean pizza normal, but after tasting Mikey’s avocado, black bean and cornflakes pizza breakfast burrito, the youngest turtle’s former gourmet weirdness was practically mundane.

1 week and Donatello still hadn’t spoken any sentences longer than “No really, I’m fine.” Absolutely nobody had even tried to bring up the topic of Casey and April, which was incredible seeing as how those 2 had dropped by every other day.  

 Maybe Incredible wasn’t the right term.  Awkward would probably be a better word for it.

Not that their visits were unexpected; April was still training with Master Splinter to be a Kunnoichi*, and had shown up Monday afternoon right after school just as she always did. Casey had Hockey practice so he didn’t stop by until much later to walk April back home.

There must have been a meeting that Raph hadn’t been invited to, since everyone but him seemed to have gotten the memo about pretending everything was perfectly fine.

The second the red-head had walked past the turnstiles into the lair, Donnie had perked up just enough to put on a weak smile and give this dinky little wave, greeting her with a “Hey, April!” that sounded like he was either faking being cheerful and failing at it, or like he was just waking up from a 12 hour nap.

Likewise, April put on a forced smile of her own, mimicked the stupid wave thing and returned the greeting with a “Hey, Donnie!” that was way more enthusiastic than it needed to be before saying hi to the rest of them and disappearing into the Dōjō where Splinter was waiting.

Before Raph had a chance to ask what the hell that sorry display was all about, Donnie had cleared his throat and mumbled off an excuse about “needing to get back to work” before scurrying off like a scared rabbit into the garage.  

He couldn’t really blame Donatello for wanting to make a quick exit; in all fairness, if their positions were reversed, Raph wouldn’t want to be standing there with everyone’s eyes on him either. Asking if he was ok was 1 thing, but seeing looks of pity aimed at him was another.

At 1 point it looked like Mikey was going to comment on their brother’s sudden need to get back to a mystery project that hadn’t existed before April’s arrival, but a quick elbow jab to his side and a glare from Leo shut that down pretty quickly.

Any other time and Raph would’ve been happy that the orange-banded turtle was willing to be quiet for a change; but now he was actually starting to miss the noise- all of this uncomfortable silence was really starting to get on his nerves.

Donnie’s “project” had managed to keep him busy and out of sight just long enough until April’s lesson was almost over, making his reappearance in the common room carrying a box full of junk, just as Casey Jones made his own entrance.

The sound of skates rolling across the concrete bounced off the walls and gave them plenty of heads-up before the teen boy leapt over the turnstiles. There was a loud whoop of joy as Casey nailed a smooth landing on the other-side, pumped his fists in the air and made fake crowd cheering noises as he congratulated himself on his “daring feat of skill”.

Leo visibly tensed and he and Raph had shared a look from across the room, both of them nodding as they came to a silent agreement;

Turtles First.
 
Casey Jones may have been Raph’s best friend, but Donatello was his brother, and if Jones had any thoughts about rubbing his new relationship with April in Donnie’s face, Raph would personally knock the Hockey players remaining teeth out.  

Raph had even cracked his knuckles in anticipation as he watched Casey swagger over in Donnie’s direction, what happened next though, he still couldn’t process-
 
Casey barely glanced at Donatello, but he raised his hand in greeting as he laughed out a “How’s it hanging, Ostrich-breath?” while he made his way towards the sitting area by the TV.

The purple-banded turtle didn’t even bat an eye, “Fine, Puck-brain.” and just walked on past him to his lab to put his box away, like it was no big deal.

Whatever Raph had been expecting to happen, that sure as shell wasn’t it- judging from the way Leo’s jaw had practically dropped to the floor, it was a safe bet to say he was just as clueless.

The insults had no bite to them. There were no dirty looks, no sharp tones; it was all so… casual.   It was like they were back on the Farmhouse again and Casey and Donnie were playing wrench jockeys in the barn, taking turns calling each other names in alphabetical order while they worked on that beat up old Hot Rod*.  

Raph wasn’t an expert or anything, but he was pretty sure that wasn’t how you were normally supposed to act around the guy who just recently snagged your dream girl.

The only explanation he could come up with was that this was somehow that dream girl’s doing;  Even without her psychic powers it had been pretty obvious to April that Casey and Donnie were constantly fighting for her attention when she was around, and it was even more obvious to everyone else that she hated it.  April had never put up with it before and it was doubtful that she was going to start now.  Just because she and Casey were a “thing” now, that didn’t give him a free-pass to pull anything she considered to be “macho-crap”.

Even if April didn’t feel the same about Donnie as he did for her, she was still his friend and it was a pretty safe bet that Casey wouldn’t be getting any over-the-jersey action if she caught him acting like a tool. Raph was thankful for that, enough to consider not teasing Casey about being “whipped.”

It took his 2 other brothers a bit longer to come to the same conclusion he had;

Leo had taken it upon himself to stand guard by the Atomic Robo X arcade console. It was half-way between the TV area and Donnie’s lab and gave him the best vantage point if he needed to intervene. Fearless Leader wasn’t being subtle about it either; didn’t even bother trying to pretend he was playing video games. He just blatantly stood there; arms crossed and tried to stare a hole through Casey’s head, ready to strike if the human so much as twitched wrong. Real smooth.

Mikey hadn’t looked like he was prepared to skewer Casey like Leo was, but he didn’t look like he was going to relax either-

 Donnie was acting strange, Leo was just itching for an excuse to unsheathe his swords and Casey was sprawled out on the bench seat watching TV, completely oblivious to all of it-  

Usually, the youngest turtle was the most laid back and the most talkative, but right then he was almost quiet; huddled up on the far end of the bench and fidgeting in place, eyes wide as his head darted back and forth between Casey, Leo and Donnie’s lab. And all while squeezing 1 of the bench cushions tightly to his chest and biting into it as if it were the only thing keeping him from exploding.

That probably wasn’t far from the truth- Mikey had a special talent for blurting out what everyone else was thinking but had enough common sense not to say at times like this.  Leo had already given him “that look” when April had showed up; that same look he always put on when he was in Leader-Mode and meant business, and as big a goofball as his kid brother was, even Mikey knew better than to ignore that look.  

So as much as the freckled turtle had probably been dying to say something; he used every ounce of willpower he had to keep his big mouth shut, and from the looks of things it had been a pretty intense battle.

Honestly, Raph had been willing to place his money on the pillow… He would have won that wager too if April hadn’t finished up training when she did and walked out into the common area.

Seeing April and knowing that Casey wasn’t likely to try anything in her presence was enough to make Leonardo pull the stick out of his ass.  Seeing that big brother no longer looked like he was ready to turn their friend into human Sashimi*was enough to make Michelangelo take the now very stretched out and slobbered upon cushion out of his mouth.  

Hearing April’s voice greeting Casey was enough to draw Donatello out of his lab just long enough to say goodbye to their friends before they walked through the turnstiles out of the lair and headed topside.

As soon as the happy couple was out of sight, Donatello dropped the “everything’s-just-peachy” act and his faced shifted from that neutral smile to a look that fell somewhere between sadness and indigestion.

The whole thing was enough to make Raph sick to his stomach.

The 6 of them repeated this awkward routine both Wednesday and Friday; Donnie put on the pleasantries for April, threw some friendly insults at Casey, then went off to his lab or the garage to do some “work.”

Each time got a little easier, the second time April’s smile was less forced and by Friday it was genuine. Leonardo had been convinced that Casey wasn’t going to hassle his nerdy brother and for the most part ignored him in favor of actually trying to beat the high score on Atomic Robo X.  Mikey no longer needed a pillow gag and talked Casey’s ears off while they laughed at whatever was on the TV.

Everyone seemed like they were happily moving on, everyone except Donnie.

Each time Casey and April left for home, the purple banded turtle put on that same sad, weird face, like he wanted to find some dark corner where he could just crawl into his shell and die (or throw up), then went back to moping around the lair and sighing.

As for his so called “projects”, that had turned out to be a complete load of bull; Raphael had been more than a little suspicious that his bro suddenly had so much to work on whenever April and Casey dropped by, especially since he didn’t seem to be motivated to do much of anything when they weren’t there.

Donatello’s “work” consisted of random pieces of scrap metal that had been welded together, for no obvious reason that Raph could tell other than Donnie had felt the urge to weld something.  His desk that was usually littered with piles of notes was now covered in papers with scribbles- no numbers or words, just pages and pages worth of black spirals and squiggles.  

Raph had even peeked his head in the lab once and caught his brother just sitting there, leaning over a table, head propped up with one hand, slowly swirling a glass beaker filled with some unknown liquid in the other, and staring mindlessly at nothing.  It was both depressing and a little bit creepy.


As much as he wanted his bro back to normal, the red-banded turtle really didn’t want to be the 1 to take charge either; he was hoping that Sensei would step in and set their brother straight.  Their father always seemed to know when something was bugging them and he also always seemed to have something to say about it. Even if whatever that something was wasn’t something they wanted to hear, it was usually something that they needed to.

That was the thing about fatherly wisdom, he supposed; something else Splinter had said about “the best medicine being bitter” or something like that.

If Splinter did have a talk with Donatello, Raph sure as shell wouldn’t have known about it- none of them would have. Whenever their father decided he needed to have a heart-to-heart with 1 of them, he always did it when they were alone. Maybe he knew that it was easier on them knowing that they didn’t have an audience, or maybe it was just easier for him to say his peace without worrying about 4 sons interrupting him.  Either way, if Splinter and Donatello had a little chat anytime during this past week, it would’ve been kept private so that Donnie could let their father’s words sink in and figure it out for himself.

That was what they all would have expected Splinter to do as their Father.  But as their Sensei, he was really throwing them all for a loop;

Ever since they were little, there had never been any doubt that their training in Ninjitsu was serious business that Master Splinter did not take lightly. He had a set routine and nothing short of an alien invasion could break it. (That had happened like, what, 3 times now?)

Morning training began right after breakfast every day, and it started with an excruciating 20 minutes of mandatory meditation (and you had better be on time ‘cuz there was a penalty of 10 extra minutes for every 1 minute you were late), followed by breathing techniques, muscle conditioning exercises, tumbling skills, and a series of both defensive and offensive katas*.

Evening training took place right before dinner, and was mostly weapons practice and sparring. If you didn’t bring your “A-Game” to evening training, you could bet your shell Sensei wasn’t going to let you go out on patrol that night.

Their training wasn’t just a part of their Father’s heritage; it was what kept them alive. Splinter was pretty strict in the Dōjō, and as they got older he was less and less likely to cut them any slack…

At least, that’s how it used to be before April and Casey hooked up.

Maybe Splinter was getting older, or maybe something about Donatello’s situation struck a personal chord with him, Raph wasn’t really sure. All he DID know was that his purple-banded brother seemed to be getting a “free-pass” which was completely messed up!

Well, maybe “free-pass” was a bit much, he seriously doubted Sensei would have put up with anyone showing up late or not at all, and fortunately Donnie was smart enough not to push his luck in that department.  But he was still getting off pretty easy.

Donnie didn’t meditate so much as he sat there and stared at his feet while sitting in the Lotus position* (Ok, most of the time Raph and Mikey didn’t really do much meditation either, but at least they always made the effort to look like they were), and he was half-assing it through every exercise, moving at a snail’s pace. It was embarrassing to watch.

Splinter said nothing.

Rather than going through their typical katas* or even trying to learn anything new, Sensei had them spend the week going over the most basic kamae* they knew over and over again. Shell, April was doing more advanced forms than them at this point.

 Donatello should have been able to do each pose in his sleep. But his mind seemed to be elsewhere, his form was sloppy, his footing was off, and it looked like he just plain didn’t give a damn.

Splinter saw it all, but didn’t bother to correct him.

Sparring was a joke.  Not that Donnie had ever been able to give Raph much of a fight before, but now he wasn’t even trying. Usually Raph relished the feel of pinning his brainy bro on the mat; there was just something oh so satisfying about watching the techno-geek squirm under the weight of him sitting on his shell, listening to him huff in annoyance before he finally gave up.

But for the past week that joy was gone; there was no spark in Donnie’s strikes, his movements had no heart in them. There was no determination in his eyes to finally wipe that smug look off Raph’s face. And when he went down he didn’t even bother to struggle to get back up. Just laid there, completely submissive as he quietly tapped out.

Splinter remained silent, and it was driving Raph nuts!

It wasn’t even so much that Sensei was ignoring it either. He was watching Donatello almost the whole time; just staring at him while stroking his beard just like he does whenever he’s in deep thought. Rather than tell Donnie off for his lack-luster performance, it looked like he was studying him, as if he were waiting for… Something.

Raph wished his father would clue the rest of them in about whatever that something was, but it didn’t look like that was going to happen anytime soon.

While he wasn’t openly admonishing their brother over the poor quality of practice, Master Splinter had made it clear that until Donatello was himself again, they were all forbidden from going topside.  

That was totally unfair, and Raph had said as much, loudly. But master Splinter had said the matter was not open for discussion, (not as loudly but with a heck of a lot more force).  Until Donnie got over this emotional hump of his, they were all under-grounded.

Injustice, that’s what it was.  Raph could understand why Sensei didn’t want Donnie going on patrol, but why did he have to bench the rest of them?  The Purple Dragons were out there, strutting around like they owned the streets, the Foot Clan was doing who knows what, and the 4 of them were stuck at home just because their resident nerd was having “troubles of the heart.”

The only real troubles that Raph saw was his bro being a drama queen while everyone else coddled him!

Nothing had changed by April and Casey getting together and the 2 of them made it clear that nothing was going to change; their human friends were still a part of their lives, April was still going to train with Master Splinter 3 times a week and make time to hang out with the rest of them, Casey was still going to be right there to help them kick butt.  Just because those 2 were going to be spending more quality time together outside the lair, it didn’t mean it was going to take anything away from their time with the rest of them.

Plus, it’s not like they were making kissy-faces at each other or anything, Raph would have gagged if they started doing that.  The most lovey-dovey thing their human friends had done was hold hands, and that was usually after they had gone through the turnstiles on their way out.

Donnie was being a big, whiney baby over nothing!

This had been 1 lousy week filled with awkward silences, kiddie training, and his whole family walking around on eggshells.

As far as Raph was concerned, a week was more than enough time for someone to finish feeling sorry for themselves.

A week had also been enough time for him to come up with a plan to snap his bro out of it;


Raph was no stranger to dealing with difficult feelings; in his experience he’d found the best way to overcome a painful emotion was to replace it with a more powerful emotion, and he just so happened to have 1 in mind.

His bros called him the “turtle with the temper”, but half of the time Donatello could have just as short a fuse as he did.  The major differences were that the brainy turtle preferred to use words before resorting to fists, that and his bursts of anger tended to fizzle out quicker.   But Raph didn’t need very long; just a few moments would do.

All he had to do was push the right buttons and Donatello would forget all about his depression over April. He’d get everything out of his system in one huge bang, realize he’d been acting like a selfish idiot, and then go back to his usual geeky self.
 
Ok, so maybe pissing off his bro wasn’t the best plan he could’ve come up with, but it was a heck of a lot more than anybody else seemed to be willing to do.

At this point, it’s not like things could get any worse.
                  

Raphael waited until evening training; There was no place for Donnie to hide and sulk in the Dōjō, and since their father always paired them together for sparring, his bro would have no way of avoiding him.

The 4 turtles kneeled before their Sensei, diligently awaiting his instruction as they had been taught, Leonardo and Michelangelo off to 1 side and Raphael and Donatello off to the other.

Splinter regarded them all silently for a moment before his firm voice filled the room;

 “Yoi.”*

All 4 of them rose to a standing positon in unison.

“Otagai ni taishi.”*

Without hesitation Raphael and Donatello turned on the spot so that they were now facing 1 another, Leonardo and Michelangelo did the same.

“Rei.”*

Leonardo and Michelangelo bent down low in a respectful bow to each other.  Donatello didn’t go nearly as low, in fact, his body was only barely tilted forward. If it wasn’t for the fact that his face was pointed at the floor, Raphael might have thought his brother was refusing to bow at all. (As if, Raph was the rebellious 1, not him.)

Head down, standing feet together and bending at the waste slightly in a small bow of his own, Raph let his eyes glance over to where Sensei was standing at the center of the room, waiting for him to give the signal to begin and taking 1 last moment to think about the plan he was about to put in motion.

He had to do this carefully, certain language was NOT acceptable in the Dōjō or around Master Splinter in general, and their father had scary good hearing.

“HAJIME!”* The verbal command filled the room and brought all 4 turtles out of their bows and into a ready stance.

Spinning both sai so that the tsuka* were facing forward with the tapered shaft pressed along the insides of his arms, Raph began to slowly circle around the purple-banded turtle.

 “Ready to do this, cream-puff?”

All he got in response was a roll of his brother’s eyes before he half-heartedly started to twirl his bō in front of him, hand over hand, and mirrored Raph’s circling.  Donnie knew Raph was only trying to egg him on and he wasn’t falling for it;

Taunting to try to goad the other into making a hasty attack was actually considered a good strategy; it was their choice on whether or not they allowed their opponents words to become weapons, a little taunting here and there could be seen as a test of the other’s self-control. But their father would only allow it to go so far; they were brothers, not enemies, and the point of their sparring sessions was to learn from each other.

If Sensei thought Raphael was being too mean too quickly, he would be silenced and the match would be ended on default.  If Raph wanted to see this through, he was going to have to ease into it slowly and build his way up; he could chalk this up to another lesson in patience.

Patience, that was something the red-banded turtle knew he had more of at the moment. Donnie hadn’t been in any mood for sparring all week and just wanted to get the match over with, but Raph wasn’t about to give him that satisfaction and he held his defensive position. If Donnie wanted the session to end sooner than later, he was going to have to make the first move.

Raph jerked his head back ever so slightly to gesture the bō wielder forward.

“Come on, take your best shot.”

As he expected, the nerd was lacking any real drive and came at him with the most basic of downward strikes- just because the brainy turtle had 8 inches on him, he always seemed to think he could get some sort of advantage by striking down at Raph’s head. Predictable.

Bringing his right arm up so his forearm was over his head in a block, there was a clack of wood against steel as the bō struck ineffectively against the shaft of his sai. Taking advantage of his bro’s slow reaction time, Raph used the pommeled end of the sai in his free arm to give Donnie a quick jab to the unprotected bridge* of his brother’s shell that he’d left open on his right side. Though it wasn’t so much of a jab as it was a teasing poke to point out his brother’s foolish mistake.

Egghead seemed to think he could pull the same stunt and brought the lower end of his bō forward and up to try to hit his bro’s exposed side as well.

In 1 fluid motion, Raph spun the sai in his right hand so that the point was now forward as he brought his arm down to block before the hit could connect. Catching the staff in 1 of his prongs, he lifted up and pushed it away to the left as far as he could, forcing Donnie to turn his back to him to follow along with it.

Sliding his weapon free and making use of the momentum, Raph spun on his heels and was able to use the butt-end of the sai in his left hand to land a solid back-fisted strike right in the center of Donnie’s shell. The purple-banded turtle yelped in pain as he stumbled forward to try and regain his balance.

Raph knew that had to hurt. Their shells were attached directly to their spines and they felt every blow. The hard keratin might protect their torsos from bruises, but as far as being considered “armor” it was just as effective as a fingernail protecting a thumb from being smashed by a hammer.

“Seriously?  How did you NOT see that coming?”

There was laughter in his voice- that was the key to staying off Splinter’s radar. As long as he didn’t sound mad or like he was being accusatory, he could get away with “poking fun” at his bro for not having his head in the game.

If the steaming glare Donatello had fixed on him was anything to go by, Raphael now had his full attention, and he shrugged the dirty look off with a friendly smile.

 “Maybe we outta’ save some time and just paint a Bulls-Eye on you shell”

“Back off Raph”

“Who’s gonna’ make me, you?”  He couldn’t help it as his friendly smile shifted into a smirk.

Donnie didn’t have anything to say to that, he only narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on his staff. They both knew just how likely it was that he could make Raph do anything.

“Yeah, I didn’t think so. “

Donnie huffed out in annoyance and went forward to try again. Raph spun his right sai back so the handle was facing outwards once more as he anticipated his bro’s attack.

So far so good; picking at Donnie’s faults in the Dōjō wasn’t anything new, maybe he was being a bit harsher than he normally would, but still it wasn’t anything the genius couldn’t brush off.   That was fine; these little bruises to his bro’s ego were only meant to soften him up anyway.

Still intent on paying the red-banded turtle back for the “love tap” on his bridge, Donnie shifted his weight forward on his right foot as he swung his bō in a horizontal strike at Raph’s left side. Raph knew it was a feint, and sure enough as soon as he’d twisted his torso to bring his right arm in to block the attack on the left, Donatello lifted his staff up, around and back down on the other side to go for a second horizontal strike aimed at the side Raphael had left exposed on his right.

No such luck. The sai-wielder easily brought his right arm back down in time to deflect the attack. The block cause the wood to bounce off the metal and Donnie used that momentum to bring his bō back up across his body in a diagonal path before bringing it back down again towards the left side of Raph’s skull.

Bringing his left arm inside and up, the emerald-skinned turtle was able to use the shaft of the sai against his arm to stop the bō in its tracks and keep it pushed away from his head. Just as before, he spun the sai in his right to the offensive position, only instead of going for another poke at the side that his bro had once again left wide open, he stabbed the pointed tip upwards at olive turtle’s face.

Donnie made the tiniest squeak of surprise as he ducked his head to 1 side. It saved him from his bro’s impromptu attempt at giving him a lip piercing, but it also put him off balance enough for Raph to deliver a swift kick to his right hip, sending him stumbling backwards.

It was all Raph could do to hold in a laugh as Donnie pin-wheeled one arm in a clumsy attempt to stay upright before he was finally able to regain his footing.

“Just once do you think you could try to not be such a push-over? I’m falling asleep here.”
Donatello’s cheeks heated up with indignation.

“Just once do you think we could do this without you being a total jerk?”  He was getting snarky now, that was a good sign.

Raph’s smirk faltered for maybe half a second as he risked a quick glance over to where Splinter was standing, his attention divided between the 2 sets of turtles sparring. His focus wasn’t going to be divided much longer.

Sensei wasn’t going to like this, Shell, HE wasn’t going to like this, but if his plan was going to work, he was needed to hit where it hurts, and there was really only 1 scab he could pick at;

“Hey, I’m not the one holding this team back because I’m too busy crying over losing my girlfriend”

Indignation was replaced with shock.  The purple-banded turtle had gotten back into a striking position but the sheer gall of Raph’s comment had thrown him off guard.

“E-Excuse me?!”  Stuttering; now they were getting somewhere- time to switch to offense.

With both sai now pointed forward, Raph advanced; slashing both arms inwards in a sideways arc that had the bō-wielder retreating backwards and away from the red-banded turtle’s sudden onslaught.

“Bet you wish you weren’t so smart, maybe then you coulda’ been the 1 to get nice and cozy with April and a math book.”

That brought the spark of aggression back into Donatello’s eyes and he whipped his bō outwards and down with a hard smack against the ground at Raphael’s feet. The sai-wielder was only barely able to jump up and out of way before his toes were crushed.

“You’re delusional!” Swinging his staff back up he tried to catch Raph back up-side the head while he was still air-borne.  He was seconds too slow and Raphael brought both of his sai up in an X to catch the bō and push it back as he leapt away.

Now that he was no longer the turtle being pushed back, Donatello pursued his bro’s retreating form. With each stride forwards he brought 1 end of his staff forward and then the other, determined to get a horizontal strike on either of Raph’s sides.

Rather than blocking the attacks, Raph focused on side stepping. He wasn’t done with his verbal assault yet and didn’t need the noise of wood on metal drowning him out.

“Admit it..,”-dodge to the right, “I’m kicking your shell right now…“ -dodge to the left, “and all you can think about…” –another dodge to the right, “…is whether or not April and Casey take breaks to suck face while she’s tutoring him on Trig.”

“I AM NOT!”

This time Raph chose to duck down to avoid a hard swipe at his head.  Rolling off to the side and out of Donatello’s reach, he jumped back up to his feet and bounced playfully from foot to foot as he gave his bro a minute to catch his breath.

He didn’t have to wait long. Donatello was back into his ready position, twirling his staff in front of him as he contemplated Raphael.  The gears turning in his head were almost audible. He had figured out what Raph was trying to do and now was equally determined not to give in.

That was just fine; Raph enjoyed a challenge.

They both charged each other at the same time, Donnie’s bō shot out in a forward thrust aimed at Raph’s middle, only to be caught and lifted up and away with the prong of a sai.

“You can’t stand it, can you? The 2 of them, alone together…”

Following the trajectory of his staff, Donnie spun around, bringing his bō with him and upwards to lash out with a horizontal back strike at Raph’s head. Blocking with his left sai, the red-banded turtle brought his right elbow up and barely missed Donnie’s cheek before twisting away.

“…They’re probably having a little 1 on 1 session of their own right now.”

Rushing forward to assume the role of the aggressor again, Raph tried for a combo of jabs, 1 at Donnie’s face and 1 aimed at his middle. Both were effectively blocked as Donatello held his staff vertically to the floor.  He was refusing to let Raph take control of the situation again, but he was panting hard now;

 “Will you just stop-“

Pushing both sai off and away, he took one step back to give himself room to bring his staff up and around before-

“Of course, I bet homework isn’t the only thing April gives Casey a hand with after school..”

Donnie froze in mid-strike and for a moment Raph thought his bro’s eyes might pop out of his head.
 
It probably wasn’t so much Raph’s innuendo, but the fact that he’d been bold enough to suggest something so crude within earshot of their Sensei- a chivalrous man who had begun to see their human friend as an adopted daughter of sorts.

There was no doubt Splinter would make him pay dearly for that comment, but it would be worth it (hopefully); Raph’s sheer amount of gall had made his brother hesitate, and that was a big mistake that would cost him.

Keeping his arms in tight, the sai-wielder rushed in from 1 side, bringing his body low and feinting a leg sweep. Genius fell for the fake-out and brought his staff down for a diagonal lower block just as Raph pulled back the kick and raised himself up, turning inwards so that now he was directly in front of his brother.

Not giving his bro any time to shift the length of his staff through his grip to give himself any distance, Raphael lunged forward, arms shooting out from their tucked position at his sides, the tips of both sai aimed at the dead center of Donatello’s plastron. The maneuver forced the purple banded turtle to step back, only having time enough to hold his bō out in a horizontal block.

Raph had Donnie exactly where he wanted him now, and he was sure that the shit-eating-grin on his face told his bro the same thing.  While the block had stopped the forward momentum of the attack and kept the pronged weapons from impaling the brainy turtle, the center length of the bō was now caught between the yoku* of each sai, a simple twist of Raph’s wrists and he had the wooden staff securely locked in place, removing any hope Donnie might have of pulling his weapon away.

Even if Donatello tried to use his height to gain himself leverage it would do him no good. Raph may have been shorter but he was also stronger, always had been and always would be. He could end the match right here and now; it would only take a quick jerk of his arms to the side, one over the over, and he could spin the staff right out of his brother’s hands. Or, if Donnie was too stubborn to let go, which seemed more likely, he’d be spun right along with his bō and flipped to the side, winded and ready to be pinned, leaving Raphael the winner as usual.

But Raph wasn’t ready for his bro to lose the match just yet- he needed him to lose his cool first.

Donatello wasn’t used to his hot headed brother drawing out their sparring sessions like this, usually the older turtle liked taking him down quickly so he could move on to their more challenging brother in blue. The only reason Donnie wasn’t on his back right now was because Raph was toying with him and they both knew it. He was rubbing salt in the wound and that knowledge had the bō-wielder looking more livid by the minute.

Raph took an agonizingly slow step forward, feeling smug as he crowed further into the other’s space. In response, Donnie bent his knees to lower his center of gravity and shifted 1 leg behind him to try and give himself an anchor in a desperate attempt to keep from being pushed back any farther.

 Beads of sweat were rolling down the sides of his head from the prolonged exertion that he hadn’t felt in days, staining his mask a darker purple. He could only grit his teeth and grunt in protest as the stronger turtle pushed down on his weapon, forcing him to lower down with it unless he wanted to leave his chest exposed. As a result, the 2 were now eye level, their faces only inches apart.

Raph lifted his chin high so he could look down at his bro’s struggles, grinning as he noticed olive green arms were starting to tremble from the effort of holding him at bay.

The egghead could handle a little salt; it was time to pour on the lemon-

“Must be embarrassing; April’s off playing with Casey’s Hockey-Stick while you can’t even get your own staff up.”

Brown eyes snapped open impossibly wide and Raph felt his body suddenly lurch forward as Donatello threw himself backwards, pulling them both off balance and bringing his back leg up for a forward snap kick right to Raph’s exposed abdomen, his longer legs giving him a deep impact.

Raph hadn’t been expecting such a bold move from his usually predictable younger brother and his lock on the bō loosened, allowing the weapon to slip free as gravity carried the leaner turtle down to the ground. He had to take several backward steps of his own to regain balance in order to keep from doing the same.

Without missing a beat, Donatello rocked back on his shell and used the momentum to kick himself back up to his feet in a single motion before charging forward.  Raphael hadn’t had enough time to regain his footing and had he blinked, he would’ve missed seeing the olive and purple blur wildly swinging his staff like a baseball bat. There was a loud, resounding crack as wood connected against the keratin of a plated stomach.

The world seemed to slow to a crawl; Raphael was only barely aware of dropping his sai as he clutched his middle protectively. Having the wind knocked out of him and tasting bile at the back of his throat, he looked up just in time to see the snarl that twisted Donatello’s face before the now splintered half of the bō was spun down and the intact end slid through his grip like a pool-cue in an upward thrust that shot straight into the underside of red-banded turtle’s chin hard enough to whip his head back against his shell.

For 2 whole seconds Raphael’s vision went black save for a burst of stars and time sped back up again as he hit the mat with a thud on his carapace.

He was down. For the first time in his life his nerdy brother had actually managed to knock him off his feet and he didn’t know if he should be angry or impressed.

Squeezing his eyes shut for a moment, he took a deep breath which, to his dismay, sounded an awful lot like a groan. It took a minute or 2 for the room to feel like it had stopped spinning and when he opened his eyes again his was greeted by the sight of 2 panicked faces in orange and blue masks.

Judging by the sound of heavy footsteps in the distance and his Father’s angry shouts, Donatello had marched himself out of the Dōjō as soon as Raph had hit the floor. The far off sound of a metal sliding door slamming shut confirmed his bro had decided to ignore their Sensei’s demands and locked himself in his lab.

The stunned silence that filled the room was only broken by a frightened whisper from the youngest,

“….Holy Chalupa.”


Not having anything particularly witty to add to that, Raph forced himself up into a sitting position and tried to ignore the painful throbbing on his chin. Less concerned over the ache in his gut, he focused instead on kneading his hand over the back of his neck- he was sure he’d be feeling the full effects of shell-lash tomorrow, but for now it was sore but bearable.
  
 His plan had worked; he had gotten the genius well and truly pissed.

…And now it felt like things had gotten so much worse.


To Be Continued as soon as I’m happy with the next chapter.
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* Kunnoichi is a female Ninja, seriously if you’ve been watching the show you should really know this by now.

* Hot rod is an older term for a fast car used for street racing. (In case English is not your first language)

* Sashimi is a Japanese delicacy consisting of very fresh raw meat or fish sliced into thin pieces.

* Lotus position is a cross-legged sitting position for meditation, with the feet resting on the thighs.

* Kata literally means “form” it is a martial arts term that refers to the exercise of training your body to   memorize positions of blocks, punches, kicks, etc.

* Kamae means posture or combat stance.

* Yoi is the command to be “ready” or stand at attention.

* Otagai ni taishi is the command to “Face each other.”

* Rei is the command to “bow with respect”  In a Dōjō, you are expected to bow to your opponents before starting a match. It is poor manners not to do so.

* Hajime is the command to “begin”

* Tsuka is the handle of a sai.

* The Bridges are the sides of a turtle’s shell between the plastron (the front/belly) and the carapace (the back). In this case, it refers to the part of the shell that covers the turtle’s between their armpit and their hip.

* Yoku is the name for the 2 side guards of the sai, also called the wings or the side prongs.
 
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